Ladders have the problem that when in use, they are generally unstable. This lack of stability will often lead to injury or even death. Indeed, injuries related to ladder use are a leading problem in construction, repair and other industries. Until now, the most common way to remedy an unstable ladder was to require a second person to be positioned at the base of the ladder, or to construct a form of scaffolding, which is both costly and time-consuming.
Numerous modifications have been made to ladders over the years, including, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 202,426; 281,977; 515,783; 886,737; 1,812,119; 1,811,722; 2,007,057; 2,471,110; 2,584,197; 2,887,260; 2,934,163; 3,288,248; 3,374,860; 4,520,896; 4,565,262; 4,669,576; 5,033,584; 5,086,876; 5,165,501; 5,590,739 and U.S. Publication Number 2010/0147623. However, a need still exists for an easy-to-use, collapsible multi-surface, self-supporting ladder and ladder system with increased stability that does not require a second person or unnecessary assembly time. One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a configuration that will help prevent injuries for individuals who climb, work on, dismount from or do any other work involving a ladder. It is contemplated that the exemplary embodiments disclosed below can be used on, inter alia, an extension ladder, pull-down attic ladder, one-piece straight ladder or any other ladder where additional stability is needed.